Facebook is currently developing an alternative to Android. With Facebook OS, Mark Zuckerberg’s firm seeks to gain independence from Google. This alternative operating system is primarily for smart speakers and virtual reality headsets from the Oculus branch.
As reported by our colleagues from The Information, the project, currently called Facebook OS, is under the supervision of Mark Lucovsky, co-author of Windows NT in the 1990s. The man also worked for several years at Google and VMware before becoming the general manager of operating systems for Facebook.
“We really want to make sure the next generation has space for us. We don’t think we can trust the marketplace or competitors to ensure that’s the case. And so we’re gonna do it ourselves.” confirmed Andrew Bosworth, vice president of Facebook’s hardware division to The Information.
Facebook no longer wants to depend on Google
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The social network is visibly reluctant to the idea of depending entirely on its relationship with Google. Given the Huawei case, which found itself deprived of the Android license overnight, Facebook wants to free itself. According to The Information, Facebook OS will replace Android on devices marketed by Facebook. Such as the Portal connected speaker or Oculus headsets. For the moment, we still don’t know at what stage the project is in. In the same perspective of emancipation, Facebook is also developing its own chips as well as its own voice assistant so as to no longer depend on Alexa and Google Assistant.
As a reminder, Mark Zuckerberg has never hidden his regret at not having created an OS to compete with Android and iOS. In April 2018, the Facebook founder said he regrets not having enough influence on the mobile platforms. The billionaire adds that “we didn’t know how to be a hardware or operating system company”. The social network giant obviously believes that there is still time to change the situation.